Antam makes debut Australian bourse

JAKARTA (JP): PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) on Monday started its first day trading on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), with its chess units of foreign securities (CUFS) being traded at A$2 a piece in early trading.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia John McCarthy hailed the listing, saying he hoped Amtam's ASX debut would be followed by other Indonesian companies.

"In the course of Indonesia's economic recovery, we hope to see more companies listed on the ASX," the Australian ambassador said during a teleconference session to Sydney during the listing of Antam shares on the Australian bourse.

State Minister of Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng and Antam operations director Harsojo Dihardjo also joined the Australian ambassador during the teleconference.

Antam became the first Indonesian company listed on the ASX when it floated its shares on the Australian stock bourse on Monday. Antam shares are traded in so-called CUFS units, where each unit is equivalent to five common shares.

Antam listed its shares on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges in November 1997, with the investing public holding 35 percent of the company's shares. The remaining 65 percent stake is held by the government.

Starting on Monday the 35 percent stake of the company's shares are now simultaneously traded on the Jakarta, Surabaya and Australia exchanges.

Tanri said Antam's move was a necessary move for globalization of the company.

"Antam's listing on the ASX will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the investment area," Tanri added.

Joining the teleconference in Sydney were the ASX head of equity market Kate Neuss, Antam president Dedi Sumanagara, senior government officials of the state of New South Wales and other invitees.

Antam president Dedi Sumanagara said he hoped the listing would prop up Telkom's share price to its ideal level.

Antam earlier said that its cross-listing on the ASX was to lift its profile and to subject itself to higher standards of transparency and mining disclosure.

After the teleconference Tanri said he did not dismiss the possibility of selling a portion of the government's stake in Antam through the ASX if the price consistently improved.

At day's end Antam's CUFS was quoted at $2.05, while in Jakarta its shares closed at Rp 1,575. (udi)